Bringing Old Timepieces Back to Life 

By Tara Kelly

Photos by Sabrina Eberhard

What do you imagine a watch repair shop to look like? And who’s behind the counter? Guarantee you do not conjure up the reality of the Millbrook Watch Shop,which opened at 154 Church Street in the center of the village in 2021. It defies all expectations, and embodies all the passions of its effervescent owner, Jamie Brown. There’s so much to look at you might get distracted from your mission to drop off your old watch for repair.

Brown is originally from Texas, which is reflected in the cowhide rugs on the floor, and the taxidermied deer heads on the wall. The shop is decorated with antiques from her mom, some of which are for sale. In addition to new watches, old watches, watch straps, and jewelry made from watch parts, Brown sells an eclectic assortment of gifts. Honey from her own hives, under the Fox and Fawn Farms label. She and her husband, Joe Vassallo, are hobby beekeepers. “We name each collection after historic queens, as well as St. Abigail, the patron saint of beekeeping.” Puzzles.“They’re one of my favorite pastimes. When I was a kid, I loved taking things apart and putting them back together.” There are also candles. “Some of our best sellers,” she says. And pithy greeting cards; hard to resist. 

While it may seem that the Millbrook Watch Shop came from out of nowhere, in fact, Brown has been in the watch business for decades, and was running shops in three locations in the city. That was a lot to oversee. When she decided to consolidate locations to Millbrook, she asked Jacob Oakley, who was managing the Brooklyn shop, if he wanted to come along. Happily, he said yes, and his wife agreed too.

It’s hard to imagine he would have said no. Oakley and Brown get along like the gears of a well-oiled watch. They both wear watchmaker loops around their neck as they are constantly scrutinizing miniscule pieces of metal. Did you know there are literally hundreds of parts to one watch mechanism? “You have to have mechanical sympathy to do this job,” Brown says. Oakley says he can feel when something is not right. He knows, “when that screw is not happy.” He also describes Rolex movements as “gorgeous inside.” 

The conversation turns to main spring powered watches, battery powered watches, and co-axial escapements! Clearly these two know what they’re dealing with. Not a surprise. The first year or so that the shop was in Millbrook they didn’t even have a sign outside. Brown does repairs for 300 different jewelers from around the U.S. Most jewelry stores don’t have someone who can repair a watch on staff. At best, they can change the battery. Brown points out that, “Cars get their oil changed—metal against metal needs grease—watches are just the same.” 

Brown and Oakley don’t just know their watches, they also know their customers. They’re good at guessing what brand of watch their customers wear. Brown credits Oakley with being right 90 percent of the time. Go ahead, pay them a visit, and see which one of them is right. You will be as amused as they are. And you might even go home with a new watch. —jwatchusa.com